There’s quite a bit to be excited about where Texas hockey is concerned. The Dallas Stars are dominating a Stanley Cup playoffs series with the heavily favored Colorado Avalanche. And the city of El Paso has landed squarely on the winter-sports map as the winner of the 2020 Kraft Hockeyville USA title.
There are the usual benefits of winning the Kraft challenge, not the least of which is $150,000 for rink upgrades and $10,000 in new equipment. But undoubtedly there are also healing effects for a community stunned and heartbroken by a racially-motivated mass shooting that happened almost exactly a year ago:
Since the kickoff of this year’s program, El Paso County Coliseum and its supporters have not only rallied online and voted but have also showed their spirit and pride for their local rink, proving them to be the most passionate hockey community in America.